


The Fanfic™

by imamessbutitsfine, TheMemeGoddess



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: All Game Characters, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Normal High School, Comedy, Crack Treated Seriously, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Fun, Funny, M/M, Multi, No Despair, Serotonin, Spongebob Voice: The Gang's All Here, The Author Regrets Nothing, Weird Plot Shit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:07:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28923333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/imamessbutitsfine/pseuds/imamessbutitsfine, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMemeGoddess/pseuds/TheMemeGoddess
Summary: The entire cast of the Danganronpa games is going to a relatively normal high school where they have wacky misadventures and wholesome bonding moments.
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede/Saihara Shuichi, Chabashira Tenko/Yumeno Himiko, Fukawa Touko/Naegi Komaru, Harukawa Maki/Momota Kaito, Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito/Nanami Chiaki, Ishimaru Kiyotaka/Oowada Mondo, Koizumi Mahiru/Saionji Hiyoko, Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko/Pekoyama Peko, Sonia Nevermind/Tanaka Gundham
Comments: 9
Kudos: 35





	1. Nagito Eats a Fucking Cup

Hajime leans in his chair to crack his back; it’s a loud one.

“That’s probably fucking up your back, y’know,” Fuyuhiko says, seated next to Hajime with his feet up on his desk. He glances at the clock; the teacher had stepped out to make some copies, but the bell would release them in a few minutes.

“Your dirty-ass shoes are probably fucking up that desk, y’know.”

“Fuck off. At least I’m not using it as a makeshift chiropractor.”

Hajime covers his mouth and says, “Not all of us have a girlfriend to bend our backs all the time.”

“Shut the hell up, you bastard!” Fuyuhiko grabs Hajime’s wrist and tries to pry his hand off his mouth while using his other arm to rev up a punch. “I’ll knock your teeth out before anyone can witness it!” Hajime tries to bat his attacker away, but has limited control due to the unbridled laughter stemming from his gut.

Fuyuhiko’s phone starts buzzing like pissed off bees; it vibrates off his desk, saving Hajime from his death grip.

“It’s the fuckin’ group chat,” he says after picking it up.

“What are they freaking out about  _ now _ ?”

Fuyuhiko blinks. “Nagito’s eating a cup.”

Hajime blinks back. “What?”

“Nagito’s eating a  _ fucking cup _ .”

“What… what kind of cup?”

“Does that really matter, you fucking dumbass?”

“I need to know if it’s my limited edition Simply Orange™ collector’s cup!” He speaks faster. “I pissed him off the other day and I haven’t apologized yet!”

“Open the damn messages yourself, then.”

“I can’t.” Fuyuhiko stares at him and Hajime continues. “Chiaki locked me out of my phone. I pissed her off the other day and I haven’t apologized-”

He throws his phone at Hajime. “Jesus Christ,  _ here _ .”

**b00bz420:** _guys check this out!!!_

 **NotByakuya:** _???_

Hajime opens the attached video. Just like Fuyuhiko said, Nagito is sitting in the cafeteria with a stack of red solo cups in front of him. “Hi, everyone! It’s me, Nagito Komaeda, and I’m eating some fucking cups!” He takes the cup off the top of the stack, pulls scissors out of his hoodie pocket, and begins snipping it into teeny-tiny pieces.

“You can eat cups? I didn’t know cups were edible!” Akane shouts from behind the camera.

“No, you really can’t… I think,” Chiaki adds, her voice clearly farther away.

Nagito ignores them and starts popping the plastic bits into his mouth like they’re Cheez-It Gripz™.

Akane speaks again. “You’re not gonna share? What the hell?”

“Akane, you may have a stomach of iron, but those shards will rip your ass to shreds on the way out!” Apparently Nekomaru’s there too.

Nagito starts coughing, holding his throat with one hand, but still shoveling in his snack with the other.

Chiaki shouts, “Nagito! No!” and becomes a blur in frame. Akane’s laughter roars above the noise, the phone falls, and the video sharply cuts off.

Hajime looks back to Fuyuhiko, giving back the phone. “Should… we be concerned?”

He puts his feet back on his desk. “Nah, the bastard’ll be fine.”

**nursing.at.college:** _KLSDFJOKDSFJOIFO_

 **nursing.at.college:** _bring him to the nurse’s office!!!_

 **nursing.at.college:** _NOW_

“They’re taking him to the nurse’s office,” Fuyuhiko says. “It’s Mikan’s problem now.” He’s silent for a moment before busting out laughing. He turns his phone back to Hajime and shows him a video of Kazuichi opening a can of Panta with his shark teeth.

“He sure doesn’t know how to read a room, huh?”

“I don’t think he knows how to read, period.”

~

“Okay, does anyone want to volunteer to present first?” the teacher asks casually, despite forcing everyone to do a presentation with no direction  _ and _ a randomly selected partner.

Sakura and Aoi raise their hands. Aoi shoves hers back down. “Oh, you and Celeste can go first.”

“Are you sure, Hina?”

“Yeah.” She smiles. “As long as we both get done before we leave for meets, we should be good.”

Celestia stands and walks to the front of the class, her drills bouncing with each step, not looking at anyone, not even Sakura. She turns to face the class, hands folded in front of her. Sakura saunters up next to her, index cards stacked neatly in her hands. Celestia clears her throat and the lights dim; a PowerPoint is projected onto the whiteboard soon after. The first slide is white with a single, black word in the center: “CASINOS.”

Sakura starts by reading some facts about casinos from her flashcards: the year the first ones were opened, the history of their legality, their annual earnings, etcetera.

Then she stops. She nods at Celestia. Celestia nods at the teacher. The slide changes to a graph colored with brooding reds and greys.

Celestia goes apeshit. She points her ringed finger at the statistics and shouts about how casinos are only concerned about their earnings, meddling with how much people can win and how. “It is despicable, the way they have no regard for the sanctity of luck. It destroys the entire spirit of gambling. Then the authorities have the nerve… the  _ audacity _ to wonder why true connoisseurs stick to illegal, underground gambling rings worldwide.”

She only stops when Sakura places a gentle hand on her shoulder. Her calm smile reappears. “Oh. It appears that we are out of time. Thank you for listening. I do hope you enjoyed our presentation.” The duo returns to their seats.

Taka jumps to his feet. “While I appreciate the effort and… passion that went into your presentation, I must inquire as to whether encouraging gambling is welcome in a school environment!”

Celestia says, “We were not encouraging anything. We were simply sharing facts.”

Taka looks conflicted until Makoto adds, “I wouldn’t worry about it too much. It’s just Celeste being Celeste.” He sits back down.

The teacher asks for the next volunteer and Aoi jumps out of her seat almost as quickly as Taka had. “We’ll go next!”

Mondo stands much more slowly. Aoi bounces to the front of the class, the biker trailing behind her. A PowerPoint appears with the title “Jet Skis! (Water Bikes!)” in dark blue Curlz. Aoi starts rambling about the hydrodynamics of Jet Skis. Mondo almost talks over her, revving to get to his section about sick Jet Ski tricks (with video). By the end, they’re both yelling and punching the air.

Sakura and Aoi are excused to get ready and changed for their wrestling and swimming meets respectively. Taka volunteers to go next.

“Aw, c’mon man, I wanted to go last,” Leon says, but gets up anyway. Leon takes out his laptop and pulls up his SoundCloud™. He joins Taka at the front of the classroom. They both put on sunglasses from their pockets. “I didn’t write these lyrics, but I made my own beat. I hope you guys are ready for your classmate to become the biggest name in music!”

Sayaka chokes on her water.

Taka turns to Leon one last time. “Are you ready to begin, comrade?”

“Hell- I mean… heck yeah!” He presses play and they begin to rap to a beat that sounds like it took three minutes to make in GarageBand™.

“Bullying, knock it off! Racism, knock it off! Bigotry, knock it off! Crime, knock it off! Robbing banks, knock it off! Not saying thanks, knock it off! Driving tanks, don’t do that. War is bad, leave it in the past!”

Sayaka dissociates until she hears half-hearted clapping and joins in. Mondo shouts, “WOOO! YEAH, THAT’S MY BRO!”

Taka yells back, “Thanks, bro!”

The teacher looks, in a word, frazzled. She gestures for the next group to present. Kyoko nods at her and then at Hifumi. One of Hifumi’s less risqué “Demon Angel☆Pretty Pudgy Princess” detective AU doujinshis is displayed. Hifumi begins a dramatic reading while Kyoko interjects sporadically to analyze various aspects of the crimes. Hifumi is holding back tears by the end; he somehow didn’t realize that this would turn into a roast session. The teacher isn’t looking much better by the end of it.

Sayaka and Chihiro go next. She sings a duet with Hatsune Miku, whom Chihiro tuned, to an original song they’d created together. It’s a fun, wholesome track about how much she and Miku love being singers.

When it’s their turn, Makoto has to drag Toko up to the front of the class. He tries to assure her that everything will be fine, but her shaking doesn’t cease. Their PowerPoint reveals that their project is a simple book report over “The Fault in Our Stars.” Makoto carries most of it, but Toko manages to sputter out a few lines of cynical (but objectively correct) plot analysis. “A-all I’m s-saying is that i-it was c-completely o-offensive a-and unnecessary to m-make out in the Annex where Anne Frank and her f-family were hidden b-before their c-capture!”

Everyone is stunned into silence when Byakuya and Yasuhiro walk to the front of the class together. They’re not sure what’s more disturbing: the idea of the two being forced to collaborate on something or the fact that neither of them look troubled.

Yasuhiro leans back against the whiteboard, his hair obstructing their PowerPoint. Byakuya clears his throat and Yasuhiro scoots over until the image is clear.

“I will be explaining the highlights of the stock market’s past twenty-four hours.” Byakuya stares at Makoto. “I suggest you take notes.”

Makoto tilts his head. Kyoko whispers, “I think he just called you poor,” and his visible confusion vanishes instantaneously.

“I took notes!” Yasuhiro says with a grin and his hands on his hips. “I sure am glad! Now I might be out of debt by the time I’m forty!”

“Fifty.” Byakuya corrects him. He goes through the presentation, explaining things in his typical tone. Yasuhiro nods and agrees to act like he’s contributing. No one can believe that it went off without a hitch.

Finally, Junko and Mukuro make their way to the front of the class. Junko looks like she’d rather be anywhere else, gazing at the floor and picking at her acrylics in annoyance. Mukuro follows her like a lost puppy.

“Okay, so, like, we’re doing a totally boring presentation on weapons or something. I dunno, I told Mukuro to pick something at least somewhat entertaining, but she failed, to no one’s surprise.”

“Sorry, Junko…” Mukuro says before starting the presentation. She talks about her favorite weapons and the history of them, including which wars and militaries they’re most prevalent in. Junko doesn’t even pretend to contribute.

Mukuro finishes and receives modest applause from the majority of the class; Byakuya is glaring. He raises his hand.

“Do you have a question?” Mukuro asks.

“Yes. I do.” He sits up. “How could someone of your supposed level of expertise in this subject make such an unbelievably novice mistake?”

She blinks. “What… what are you talking about?”

“The bombs listed on the third slide were distributed by the Togami corporation, not Towa.”

“B-but,” Mukuro stumbles, “that wasn’t made public knowledge until three years ago… and, at the time-”

“It’s  _ wrong _ .”

“Let… me explain-”

“There’s nothing to explain. You-”

Mukuro scoops Byakuya out of his seat by his armpits, sets him down, and punches him full-force. He goes flying, soaring through the window and shattering it. His shout slowly gets quieter.

Toko passes out, her face slamming into her desk. Junko cackles. “Oh my  _ God _ ! Good one, sis!” She wipes away a tear and flings an arm around her expressionless sister’s shoulders.

The rest of the class, eyes wide, turns to their teacher; she hadn’t looked up from her novel since Toko and Makoto’s presentation. “I didn’t see it, so I can’t report anything,” she says, turning the page.

~

Shuichi sits on the risers of the music room. He flips through his criminal justice textbook, squinting to read it in the room’s dimness. Kaede softly hums along to the piano; she’s playing “Gymnopédie No. 1,” a slow, calming tune, fitting for the near-empty, serene space. When the song ends, Shuichi sets down his book to give quiet applause. Kaede bows, low and dramatic.

“Thank you! Autographs are ten dollars!”

“Sorry, I’m just as broke as you are.” He yawns and moves to lay down. “You know I love your playing, but I’m going to pass out if you don’t play something more energetic. I’ve only slept, like, six hours total this week, and coffee can only do so much.”

“How  _ dare _ you insinuate that Erik Satie’s work is boring.”

“Soothing, not boring.”

“Nice save.” Kaede thinks for a minute. “I know what song to play next!” She cracks her knuckles, clears her throat, and shoves her index finger down on the G key. Her head whips around and she holds back giggles, expecting his hat to be thrown at her or, at the very least, him to shoot her a hysterical look of disapproval. Instead, his eyes are glassy and turned downward.

She tries, “Remembering your emo phase, huh?” No response. “Okay, I get it, it’s not a phase.” Shuichi blinks and she asks, “Are you messing with me?”

She plays the rest of “Welcome to the Black Parade,” but he doesn’t budge. She sits him up. Shakes him a little bit. Pinches his nose. Waves her hand and snaps in front of his face. She even tries swiping his hat, but to no avail.

She curses and whips out her phone.

“Who should I call…?” she asks to herself. She and Shuichi are technically ditching, so most of their classmates are unlikely to answer. She sighs, knowing her only option is to call the only person she knows is also ditching. She dials the number and, surprisingly, he picks up. “Kokichi?”

“ _ Geez _ , Bakamatsu, what’re you calling me for? In the middle of class, too? I should report you for truancy!”

“You’re not in class either. That’s why I called you.”

“I can assure you that, though our ideas of ‘class’ may be different, I am  _ very _ busy right now.”

“Really? Because I’m almost certain you’re doing something ridiculous right now.”

Kokichi sits up in his hiding place behind the supermarket’s rows of shopping carts. “What?” He navigates his remote-control car to drive into a middle-aged lady’s feet, causing her to stumble to the ground. He tears up. “I’m hurt that you’d say that about me, Kaede. I thought we were friends. I thought you would at least make an effort to understand the things that are important to me, but I guess not!”

“I broke Shuichi.”

He pauses. “ _ Without me _ ?”

“It was an accident. I G-noted him as a joke, and now he’s, like, hardcore dissociating or something. I can’t get him out of it.”

Kokichi lets out a ridiculously long, annoyed sigh. “Fine. I’ll be there in ten minutes.” He hangs up. Kaede switches between playing different songs and trying to shake Shuichi awake until Kokichi arrives.

When he gets there (in ten minutes, on the dot), he immediately plants himself in Shuichi’s lap and starts poking and slapping his cheeks. “We get it, you’re emo!” he shouts directly into his ear. “Now wake up!”

“Stop that! You’re going to leave a welt on his face.”

“You said you wanted my help waking him up, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, with waking him up, not giving him permanent hearing loss!”

“If he can’t hear, then you won’t be able to torture him with that traumatizing emo shit anymore!” Kokichi shakes his head. “Bullying was the last thing this poor bastard needed, yet here you are, revelling in his misery.”

“If you’re not going to help, then leave!” she shouts.

“I  _ AM _ HELPING!”

Nagito comes barreling through the music room doors, hacking and coughing. He ninja rolls between the piano and the wall, hiding himself in the crevice. Nekomaru appears in the doorway moments later, panting, “You would make an excellent track star, Komaeda!” He starts towards the piano. “It’s unfortunate that Akane opted to stay in the cafeteria.” He laughs. “She’d have a much easier time catching up to you!”

“What the heck is going on?” Kaede yells.

Chiaki shows up next, hunched over and puffing. “He… he ate a cup…”

“He  _ what _ ?”

Kokichi starts cackling, clapping Shuichi on the back despite him still being only half-conscious.

Chiaki continues, “We tried to… to the nurse… but he booked it…”

Nekomaru pulls Nagito out of his hiding place by his hoodie and flings him over his shoulder like a mailbag; he’s still coughing like a smoker. Nekomaru turns to where Shuichi and Kokichi are sitting. “He doesn’t look too good. Does he need a lift?”

Kokichi stands and places a hand on his forehead. “Now that you mention it, I  _ am _ feeling kind of faint.”

“Then hop on, little man!”

“Who’re you calling little,  _ big _ ?” he says but climbs onto Nekomaru, scaling him like a building, and straddles his neck.

“Kokichi!” Kaede scolds, then sighs. “Yeah, we should probably take Shuichi to the nurse.”

Nekomaru nods and flings Shuichi’s dead weight over his other shoulder.

Chiaki yawns. “I’m too tired to go all the way to the nurse’s office. Will you carry me too?” She lifts her arms into the air and does grabby hands.

“Of course!” He scoops her under his left arm and turns to Kaede. “You want a ride too?”

She blinks a few times then shrugs. “Sure, why not?” She’s scooped under his right arm.

They hear distant glass shattering and a muffled scream. Someone flies past the window. Before anyone can question it, Nekomaru bolts towards the nurse’s office.

~

Byakuya flies over the school’s courtyard. His scream attracts the attention of Sakura and Aoi, who are walking to the bus parked in front of the school.

Sakura drops her bag, runs over, and catches him like a football. She pauses for a moment before gently setting him down on the ground. A few moments of awkward silence pass.

“Uh, are you alright?” she finally asks.

Before he can answer, Aoi runs over. She yells, “Oh my god, what happened?”

Byakuya scowls. “That heathen who reeks of gunpowder threw me out the window for pointing out a mistake in her presentation.”

Aoi’s mouth drops. “She was able to throw you this far?”

“She’s lucky you were here to catch me. Otherwise, the Togami family would be suing her for everything she owns and then some.”

“Well, we’re glad you’re okay, but Aoi and I really have to get to the bus. You should probably go to the nurse to make sure nothing’s broken; you had a lot of velocity when I caught you. Are you hurt? Can you get there yourself?”

“Don’t patronize me,” he spits.

Sakura just nods and heads towards the bus. When her back’s turned, Aoi sticks her foot in Byakuya’s path; he stumbles to the ground, not having enough time to catch himself. His face slams into the soil; he gets grass up his nostrils. By the time he scoops up the fragments of his broken glasses and gets to his feet, the girls are long gone.

He curses under his breath and starts towards the nurse’s office, huffing the whole way there.

~

Nekomaru runs towards the nurse’s office at top speed. Students stumble out of his path and give them strange looks. Chiaki’s dozing. Nagito coughs.

“Y’know, you remind me of one of my classmates!” Kaede says. “He’s big and strong and nice like you, but he’s not really into athletics.”

“That’s a shame! I could train him into an excellent athlete!”

Kokichi sets his head on top of Nekomaru’s. “So, have you ever measured yourself,  _ big _ boy?’

“Of course! My biceps are 21 inches...” He rattles off his various muscle measurements while Kaede reaches up to try to aggressively grab Kokichi. Nekomaru suddenly yells, “Duck!”

“Did you say fu-” Kokichi’s face collides with a relatively low archway. His legs are somehow strong enough to keep him from falling off of Nekomaru. He simultaneously groans and whines.

“I told you to duck!”

They finally reach their destination. Nekomaru flings the door open. Mikan is standing at the ready. She tilts her head and screams, “How many people did you injure on the way here?”

“Just one!” He puts down Chiaki and Kaede then lays the others down in the medical beds.

Mikan decides to help Nagito, the actively choking one, first. She starts with the heimlich. “Stay back if you don’t want to get sprayed!” As she warned, spit-covered pieces of cup spew out of his mouth as she shoves her fist into his abdomen. Nagito’s out of it when she lays him back down. She looks into his throat and doesn’t find any critical damage, so she moves on to the others.

Kokichi is bleeding a little out of his head. He mumble-sings, “Pussy talented… it do cartwheels...”

“And he pay ‘cause he like how that part feel.” Chiaki finishes for him.

“Now is not the time, Chiaki!” Mikan says.

“Sorry...” She falls asleep again in an empty bed.

Byakuya hobbles into the nurse’s office, feeling the walls around him, clutching his broken glasses to his chest. “I demand immediate assistance. Grass got in my nose.”

“You get to wait your turn like everyone else!” Mikan snaps at him. “Now shut up and sit down! I’m kind of busy right now!”

Byakuya grumbles and does as told.

“I didn’t know Mikan had that in her,” Nekomaru says.

After examining Kokichi and bandaging his head, Mikan determines that he has a minor concussion. “Make sure he gets plenty of monitored rest and doesn’t do anything that requires physical exertion or visual focus.”

Kaede sighs, knowing she and Rantaro are probably going to end up with that responsibility.

Mikan puts a fan on Shuichi and, when he’s finally coming to, gets him to drink some water. “What… happened?” he asks.

“Shuichi!” Kaede grabs him in a hug. “Geez, you really freaked me out!”

He dazedly hugs her back. “Uh, how? Where am I?”

“I G-noted you and you hardcore dissociated and while Kokichi and I were trying to wake you up, that guy ran into the room.” She points to Nagito and continues. “Apparently he ate a cup. His friends tried to get him to the nurse’s office, and he ran, so-”

“Okay. I appreciate you trying to explain it to me, but I think I’ve heard enough.” He takes another sip of water and lays back down.

Mikan finally examines Byakuya. “You’re fine. I’ll give you a nurse’s note to go home. You can’t really participate in class if you can’t see. You’ll have to call someone to pick you up.”

“I already have that taken care of.”

Kyoko and Makoto walk into the nurse’s office. “Oh my gosh, Byakuya! How are you still alive?” Makoto runs over to him. “Like, I’m glad you’re okay, obviously, but… wow! You got punched through a window and you’re unscathed!”

“He  _ what _ ?” Mikan shrieks.

Byakuya ignores her and says, “I thought I told you to wait outside.”

“We were worried about you!”

“Do you still need a ride home?” Kyoko asks, jingling her car keys. Byakuya stands and nods. The three of them leave.

Kaede drags Kokichi from the bed and somehow gets him to agree to “hang out” with her and Rantaro. Shuichi tags along behind them to the exit.

Mikan approaches Nagito, who is now just chilling in his bed. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“I think I should go,” Nekomaru says and then leaves.

“I was testing my luck, obviously.”

“More like your dumbassery!”

Chiaki wakes up laughing. Nagito tries, “I ate a cup to represent how my life only has value if I am a vessel for others’ desires.”

“Bullshit.” Hajime walks in. “You’ve been planning this for weeks.”

Chiaki yawns. “I didn’t think he’d actually do it.”

Nagito grins. “You underestimate me.”

“If that’s what you want to call it.” Hajime helps Chiaki and Nagito out of their beds and links arms with them. “Thanks, Mikan. Sorry about all of this.”

“N-no need to thank m-me… it’s j-just my job…”

He gives her a half-wave and leaves with Chiaki dozing off on his shoulder and Nagito rambling about how “Mikan saving him filled him with so much hope.”

Mikan grabs the nearest pillow, screams into it for a solid thirty seconds, then starts to clean up the nurse’s office.


	2. The Nap Closet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chiaki can't sleep, so Himiko shows her the school's fabled nap closet. Word gets out, and things escalate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SLIGHT "Danganronpa: Togami" SPOILER IN THIS CHAPTER
> 
> Fun fact: Imposter's real name is Kazuya Togami. Yeah, apparently they and Byakuya are half-siblings. Wild stuff. (That's the spoiler.)
> 
> Also, we changed "Atua" to "god" so we don't accidentally appropriate Polynesian culture.

Chiaki follows Himiko down unfamiliar school hallways until she stops in front of a door. It doesn’t have a window nor the typical small sign with a number and sometimes a name.

“This is the nap closet,” the magician says, pushing the door open. “I never have trouble sleeping in here, so you should be able to get some rest, nyeh...” She pulls her beanie down over her eyes and slips into the room. “Well… I never really have trouble sleeping, but maybe it’ll help with your in-sum-nee-uh problem.” She curls up into the corner and is out like a light in seconds.

Chiaki exhales and rubs her eyes, pressing her middle fingers into the dark circles under them. She quietly shuts the door behind her, finds a different corner to lean against, slides down onto her butt, and closes her eyes.

A few minutes pass. You’d think I’d have no problem sleeping since it’s been so long, she thinks, drumming her fingers against her knees.

There’s quick knocking from outside.

“Himiko?” a muffled voice calls out. “Are you in there?” Tenko creaks the door open and jumps into an attack stance. “Who are you?” she shouts, squinting into the darkness. “Okay, so you’re not a degenerate male.” She breathes a sigh of relief but immediately goes stiff again. “Wait! Are you trying to steal my dear Himiko from me?”

Chiaki yawns. “No. I’m just trying to sleep.”

Tenko purses her lips. “Okay. I’ll believe you. But only because you’re not a degenerate male.” She steps inside and inches her way over to Himiko. She does a little happy dance and whisper-squeals, “Oh my gosh, look at Himiko! She’s  _ so _ cute! I can hardly stand it!”

Himiko slowly blinks, half-awake. “Tenko…?”

A visual ripple of fear courses through Tenko’s body. “Oh no! Did I wake you up, Himiko? I’m so so so sorry! I-”

“Nyeh…” Himiko yawns and holds out her arms to Tenko. The neo-aikido pupil turns as red as a cherry but lays down and wraps the sleepy magician in her arms. Himiko’s softly snoring almost instantly. It takes Tenko about five minutes to stop shaking, but, after that, she also drifts off.

Huh, maybe I’d sleep better with them here, Chiaki thinks, then texts Hajime and Nagito her location. Hajime shows up first. He peeks inside the room, glancing around until his eyes meet Chiaki’s. He sneaks inside and crouches down next to her.

“Who’re they?” he asks, looking back at Himiko and Tenko.

“This is  _ the _ nap closet, not  _ Chiaki’s _ nap closet.”

“Okay. Fair.” He pauses. “Are you sure you should be in here instead of at class? You could get in trouble.”

“I haven’t slept in three days.” Hajime’s eyes widen and she laughs a little bit. “I don’t really care at this point.”

“That bad, huh?” he says. Chiaki nods. He sighs. “For fuck's sake. C’mere.” Hajime sits and hugs Chiaki. They fall asleep pretty quickly after that. Nagito arrives a bit later, sees them, gets the memo, and joins their cuddle-pile-meets-sleep-sesh.

~

“Oh, Himiko?” Angie’s voice flutters across the hallway. “Himiko?” She glides along, stopping when she reaches the nap closet’s door. She flings it open, waltzes over to her searchee, and says, “There you are!”

Tenko yelps awake and shields Himiko with her whole body. She looks at Angie, relaxes, and says, “Oh. It’s just you. What do you want?”

Himiko rubs her eyes and asks, “How did you even find us?”

“God told me you were here, silly!” She twirls.

“Well, can god tell you to either sleep or leave?” Himiko curls up again. “Nyeh…”

“Well, god does say that rest is important!” She falls on top of them. “He accepts your invitation!”

Himiko and Angie doze comfortably and Tenko, after grumbling for a while, goes back to sleep.

~

  
  


Kokichi runs to the nap closet and swings the door open full-force. He shouts, “No fair! I wanna nap too!” He leaps towards the pile his classmates are in. Tenko wakes up just soon enough to karate chop him away from them. He whines and falls backward onto his behind. “Come  _ on _ , I don’t want to be cold when I sleep!”

Kaede, Shuichi, and Rantaro run inside, sweaty and panting. “There you are, you little bastard!” Rantaro huffs out. Tenko turns back towards Himiko, trying to ignore the lot of them and, by extension, sleep.

Kokichi pouts. “Since when are you guys so good at finding me?” He sits up, cross-legged, and stretches his arms over his head. “It’s probably my con-cushion. I’m not on top of my game. Stupid head-ouchie.”

“That ‘head-ouchie’ could cause you lifelong problems if you don’t stop running around like a madman!” Shuichi says, uncharacteristically gesturing with his hands.

“You know what?” Kaede interrupts. “If he wants to sleep, let’s let him sleep. Sleep is good. He needs rest and he can’t run if he’s sleeping. We can be here to monitor him. This  _ is _ the nap closet after all, right?”

Rantaro shrugs and nods while Shuichi quietly asks, “The  _ what _ ?”

The emo doesn’t get a direct answer. Kokichi adds, “Plus, I can’t sneak away if you guys are my makeshift blankets!”

“You’re enjoying this too much,” Rantaro says, but sits down next to him.

“Shuichi needs to sleep anyway. I can’t believe he didn’t wake us up for our turns of Kokichi-watching duty last night.” She sits.

“I would’ve felt bad about waking you guys up…” He mumbles, joining them. “Besides, I don’t sleep anyways.”

Once they form a heap, Shuichi’s out first, to no one’s surprise, followed by Kokichi, Kaede, and finally Rantaro.

~

Kazuichi awkwardly opens the door, looks around, and furrows his brows until he sees Chiaki. He stumbles over sleeping bodies and crouches down to face her.

“Uh… Chiaki? The group chat said you might be here.” She doesn’t stir, so he tries, “So, uh, are we still hanging out today, or, like-”

“Kazuichi’s here…” Chiaki mumbles, half-asleep. “My legs are cold.” She does grabby hands. “Come be my little pogchamp.”

Kazuichi is physically incapable of refusing after being called someone’s little pogchamp, so he shrugs and lays down over her legs.

“You guys are friends?” Hajime asks, woken by their conversation.

“Yeah. We listen to 100 Gecs together.” She yawns. “Plus, I’m going to teach him how to be a catfish gamer girl on Discord™.”

The mechanic nods, eyes closed.

Hajime blinks. “Okay.” He leans back against Nagito.

~

“Hey, Kazuichi, you in here?” Akane asks, opening the door as if it led to her own bedroom. She only gets a snore from him in response. “C’mon, don’t ignore me. You know you still owe me a bag of chips.” She tilts her head. “Man, everyone’s sleeping in here, huh.” Her head turns a little to the left and she beams. “Hey, not everyone’s asleep! Hey, Kazuya! How’s it going?”

They give her a stern look and shush her, gesturing to Himiko, who’s been unknowingly using them as a pillow this whole time. “Quiet,” they say in a low voice. “She’s sleeping.” They sit squeezed in the corner, careful not to move too much.

“Oh,” Akane whispers. “Sorry.” She pauses. Looks at everyone else’s motionless forms. “Wait, what’re you doing in here if you aren’t sleepin’?”

“I came in here to read without interruption. When people started to come in, nobody seemed to realize I was here. Then, when this one fell asleep on me,” they gesture to Himiko, “and then this one on top of her,” they gesture to Tenko, who’s holding Himiko like a teddy bear, “I decided to just roll with it.”

“Ohhh, that makes sense.” She stretches and yawns. “Honestly, it looks pretty cozy in here. It reminds me of when me and my siblings would cram together on our bedroom floor when we couldn’t afford to turn the heat on. Feels homey.”

“Well, you might as well sleep. If you want to, of course. That’s what this closet seems to be used for, after all.”

“Hmmm…” She crosses her arms and tilts her head in thought. “Y’know what? You’re right. Just about nothing’s better than a post-nap snack, but I can’t make a snack post-nap unless I nap.”

Kazuya just nods. Akane lays down over Hajime’s legs and uses Chiaki’s thighs as a pillow. “You should sleep too!” she calls to them. “You look like you need it.”

They carefully place their hands over Himiko’s ears and go, “Shhh.”

“Oh yeah. Sorry. G’night.”

“Good night,” they reply, internally deciding to take Akane’s advice and get some rest. Chiaki hugs Akane’s head in her sleep.

~

“Owari!” Nekomaru swings the door open. “Are you really messing around in here when we should be training-” He stops and stares at her sleeping form, then everyone else’s. He scratches his beard. “Huh…” Owari isn’t usually the type to ditch, he thinks, there are few things she’d rather do than spar… or eat. “Did I push her too hard yesterday?” he asks himself. “Why the heck are there so many people in here?” Well, he thinks, proper sleep  _ is _ important to a good training regimen; maybe this is a good chance to get some extra  _ Z _ ’s in.

He squishes his large form into a half-unoccupied spot near the center of the room. Letting his head droop forward, he falls asleep.

~

Teruteru, who had been following Nekomaru from a distance, stops in front of the door. A closet? he thinks, his mouth turning upwards into a devilish smile. “Just what could that hot hunk of a man be doing in an abandoned closet?” he asks under his breath.

The cook steps inside and nearly squeals with glee when he sees how many people are inside. However, once his eyes adjust enough to realize that an orgy was  _ not _ what was happening, he sighs. “It may be kind of boring, but I  _ could _ use a nap.”

He saunters over to his desire (or, his one of  _ many _ desires) and wiggles himself into his lap. Nekomaru blinks awake and yawns loudly.

“Teruteru?”

“ _ Yes? _ ” he asks, hopeful.

“Did you decide to join this group nap session?” he asks with a big smile.

“Something like that.” He toys with Nekomaru’s sleeve.

“Have you not been getting enough sleep?”

“No.” He looks up at his huge human chair. “I’ve been thinking about you too much-”

“Well, that’s unacceptable!” Nekomaru cuts him off. “Proper sleep is vital to a healthy lifestyle.” He goes on about methods to help ensure better, more consistent sleep. This puts Teruteru to sleep. Once Nekomaru realizes his trainee is dozing, he grins, feeling as though he’s helped, and joins him in his slumber.

~

Yasuhiro opens the door and his jaw drops. “Yooo… so the rumors were true!” He leaps with joy. “The nap closet! It’s real!” He dives wherever he can fit and sleeps.

~

Toko glances behind her before slowly opening the closet door. I just need some time alone, she thinks, my muse is calling and I can’t focus with those idiots being so… rowdy. She yelps and jumps back several feet when she sees not only a person but a metric crapton of people squished inside the small ex-janitor’s closet. She sighs. Takes a deep breath. It’s okay, she thinks, they’re sleeping; I can still get some writing done.

She turns on her phone’s flashlight, tiptoes over the piles of slumberers, and sits on the one remaining shelf in the room. Other than the whisper-squeak she creates when her seat bends a bit under her weight, she makes no sound. Finally, she unclutches her notebook from her chest, sets up her light, and begins to quietly scribble.

~

“Alright, the jig is up!” Taka pounds on the door with his fist. “You can’t hide in here to skip-” He opens the door, but quickly jumps back and points inside. His hand shakes. “U-unwholesome!  _ This _ is what you’re all skipping class for?  _ Kanoodling _ ?”

Mondo, a few strides behind Taka, mumbles, “I’m gonna wait outside,” and turns to walk the other way.

“D-don’t associate me with those f-freaks!” Toko says, stomping out of the closet as fast as she can without tripping over people. “I was j-just writing!”

Taka ignores her, putting his arm out to stop her. “You all should be ashamed of yourselves!”

Himiko sits up and squints at Taka before pulling her beanie down over her eyes. “Nyeh… don’t pervert the nap closet. We were just sleeping.”

“Unfortunately,” Teruteru adds.

“Yeah, man. Chillax,” Yasuhiro says.

Taka clears his throat and stands up straight, recomposing himself. “Regardless of what you were doing, you all need to leave. School is over, and all students not involved in extracurricular activities are to leave the premises.” He points to the nearest exit and steps aside to let the sleepers leave. Toko skirts around him and flees.

“You’re all lucky that I’m not permitted to give out detentions after school hours. I hope that, in lieu of detention, you make the smart decision of studying to make up for lost class time.”

Yasuhiro laughs. “Ah, c’mon man, you know studying isn’t my thing.” He claps Taka on the back on his way out. “I’m prolly gonna continue this nap sesh at home.”

The hall monitor’s forehead wrinkles, but he says nothing. Shuichi scrambles to his feet and speedwalks away, muttering, “Dammit, if I’m late, Kyoko’s gonna kill me…”

Kaede and Rantaro each grab one of Kokcihi’s legs and drag him away. He scratches at the floor, but his nails (unsurprisingly) can’t penetrate the linoleum tile. With the distraction, Kazuichi shuffles away unnoticed by the majority of them. Teruteru follows, however, trying to tell the uninterested mechanic about the new dish that this experience had inspired.

“Why’d she have to lay on my legs,” Hajime grumbles, struggling to his feet. “Now they’re asleep.”

“Aw…” Chiaki whines softly. “Then you can’t give me a piggy-back ride.”

“I’ve gotcha!” Akane shouts, crouching in front of the gamer. She yawns and leaps onto her back.

Wrapping her arms around her neck and nuzzling the back of her head, she says, “Thanks, Akane.”

Nekomaru scoops Hajime and Nagito under his arms; they yelp and laugh respectively. “Where are we headed?” Nekomaru asks.

“Hajime’s.” Chiaki says. They take off down the hall, Nekomaru declaring that he’ll definitely beat Akane this time, even with the extra weight. Angie drags Himiko to the art room to help her with some art project and Tenko begrudgingly follows.

Taka nods, satisfied. He closes and locks the door before going to meet Mondo.

Kazuya sighs in their corner. “At least I have a chance to read now.” They pull out their book and wait for their eyes to adjust to the lack of light.


	3. Toko Finds a Cat at a Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto's friends throw a birthday party for him, and, at that party, Toko meets someone she never expected to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We were originally planning to update this on February 5th, Makoto's actual birthday, but then life happened. We hope you enjoy this chapter anyway!
> 
> Also, happy belated Valentine's Day!

Makoto offhandedly mentions the idea of throwing a birthday party before class starts; Aoi, Sayaka, and Hifumi jump up, immediately conjuring up plans. Their voices overlap into a jumbled mess. Makoto nods occasionally, glancing around the room to gauge others’ reactions, but gets nothing.

“Oooh, what about a costume party?” Aoi suggests, hands pressed against her desk. “I know it’s not near Halloween or anything, but I haven’t worn a costume in years. I took Yuta trick-or-treating last year and it made me miss it.” She pouts. “My sob story didn’t convince him to share his candy, though.”

“I would finally have an event to wear my Princess Piggles costume to!” Hifumi says. “I can’t wear it to cons without getting swarmed. I can’t let that happen when I’ve got doujinshi to sell.”

“I  _ have _ been wanting to test some of my stage costumes.” Sayaka adds.

The three turn to face Makoto like a hivemind. They give him an identical, expectant look.

“Uh, sure. A costume party sounds fun.”

They cheer and go back to enthusiastically chatting. Makoto thinks, what are the chances my Darth Vader™ costume from six years ago still fits?

~

“C’mon, Maki Roll, are you sure?”

“Yes.” Maki punches her sandbag head-on and its chain jingles. “I barely have time to sleep as is.”

Kaito turns to Shuichi and sticks out his bottom lip. “You too?”

“Huh?” He turns the page of his textbook, sips at his third cup of coffee, and doesn’t look up. “Yeah.”

“But you’re  _ always _ studying, Shuichi!”

“I kind of have to if I want to keep up with Kyoko.” He turns another page.

“Okay, but you’ve gotta give your noggin a break sometimes if you don’t want it to melt!”

He dodges Kaito’s noogie. “No point.”  _ Sip _ . “Already melted.”

Maki’s kicking the bag now. “We don’t know anything about space anyway.”

“That’s why you should join. To  _ learn _ .” He pauses. “C’mon, guys! I only need three people to make it an official club and, without that, I won’t have access to a bus or funding.”

“We would if we had time-”

“I wouldn’t.”

Shuichi blinks. “ _ I _ would if I had time, but I don’t. Sorry, Kaito. You could put up posters to see if anyone else is interested. I’m sure Angie would help you design them.”

Kaito groans, leaning back so far that he ends up laying on his back. “I don’t want to ask Angie. She’ll try to turn my club into a cult.”

“You seem like the type who’d  _ love _ a space cult,” Maki says.

“What kinda guy do you take me for?” He sits up. “Even if I didn’t have moral standards, running a cult sounds like a lot of work.”

“Didn’t you pass the Astronaut Aptitude Test on your first try?” Shuichi asks.

Maki adds, “When you weren’t even technically allowed to take it?”

“ _ Yeah _ , but knowing that stuff isn’t  _ work _ . It’s fun!” Kaito says. Both of his friends groan in response. He continues, “But okay, you’re right; I should make some posters or something. I’m not sure how much that’ll do, though. If there are other aspiring astronauts at this school, you’d think I’d have met them already.”

“Some might want to put it on college applications,” Shuichi says. “They might not be passionate, but you’ll get your bus and funding.”

With that, Kaito sprang up onto his feet and marched away, chant-singing “bus and funding, bus and funding, bus and funding,” under his breath.

~

“C’mon, please? You know my dream is to build a rocket, and this could be a cool learning opportunity! I could even network with some of the space nerds. Y’know, get my foot in the door?” Kazuichi begs, circling Chiaki on their walk to her house. “The guy said we’d need three members to make it a real club, and I can’t think of anyone else. Besides, I wouldn’t wanna go by myself anyway.”

She’s walking slowly, not looking up from her Nintendo Switch™. “Sure. I don’t care as long as I’m allowed to play  _ Galaga _ .”

“Sweet!” He leaps into the air and ends up landing right in front of her; she finally stops and looks up.

Before Kazuichi can apologize, she says, “We passed my house.” She turns around and walks in the other direction, her gaze back to her handheld. The mechanic pauses, dazed, before following.

~

Hifumi scurries around Makoto’s basement, setting up his collection of life-size Princess Piggle cutouts against the walls. Sayaka hangs up posters, adorned with glitter, advertising her band’s next performance at the local coffee shop. Aoi glides about, hanging up streamers and balloons decorated to look like donuts. Makoto sits in the corner, getting dizzy watching his friends whiz by.

“You guys really don’t have to do all this. When I said ‘party,’ I just meant something small. You don’t have to make such a big deal out of-”

Aoi cuts him off by popping a balloon with her fist. “Don’t say that! We’re your friends and we’ll make as big of a deal out of your birthday as we damn please.”

“Yeah!” Sayaka agrees, taping her last poster to the wall in one swift motion.

“Okay, then,” Makoto concedes. “So, Hina, do you know what you’re going to dress up as? I still haven’t come up with any good ideas.”

She pouts. “I’m trying to convince Sakura to go dressed as a donut with me, but she says she’s too embarrassed. She says a donut costume will look weird on her because she’s so big and tall, but I told her she could be a Long John. She still doesn’t want to, but I think I can get her to crack!”

“That sounds fun. Maybe I should go as something silly too.”

She throws the rubber of the deflated balloon at him. “Don’t question the sanctity of donuts with words like ‘silly!’” He picks the plastic out of his hair and they both laugh.

~

“Welcome to the first official meeting of Hope’s Peak’s new Space Club, space cadets!” Kaito says, standing at the front of a classroom wearing his NASA letterman jacket. Kazuichi punches the air and shouts. Chiaki dazedly applauds. He continues, “Our first meeting will consist of talking about our interests involving space so we can figure out what to do next. Sounds good, right? I’ve never had a ‘budget’ before, so you guys are gonna have to help me out.” Chiaki raises her hand. He points at her. “Yes?”

“Can we get snacks?”

Kazuichi sits up and grins. “Ooh, I like snacks!”

Kaito scratches his beard. “I don’t see why not. I can’t have my cadets running on empty. We can even get space-themed ones! We can go get them in our school-issued...” He pulls keys out of his pocket and shakes them in front of his face. “BUS!” Chiaki and Kazuichi cheer, albeit at very different energy levels. They file in a line behind him and he asks, “Anything else?”

“I wanna build a rocket!” Kazuichi says, struggling not to speed walk ahead of Kaito despite having no idea where they’re going.

“Dude, seriously? That’s so cool.  _ Rockets _ are so cool. You should let me fly in it!” He looks at Chiaki.

She says, “I like  _ Galaga _ .”

He blinks. “Well,  _ Galaga _ ’s cool too. Not as cool as real-life rockets, but still cool.”

They reach the school’s east parking lot and pile into bus fourteen. Kaito drives. Kazuichi sits shotgun, takes the AUX, and plays Yung Gravy. Chiaki dozes in the backseat.

The group charges into the supermarket, grabbing anything edible that could be remotely considered space-related: galaxy themed, star-shaped, moon-esque, you name it. They munch on Cosmic Brownies™ on the way back to the school, situated very illegally, laying Chiaki’s jacket on the floor of the vehicle to catch crumbs.

“Well, that seemed like a productive first meeting!” Kaito says as he parks the bus back in its lot. “Next week we can research how rockets are made.”

“Sweet!” Kazuichi shouts.

Chiaki scoops up her jacket, crumbs and all, and puts it on. They all wave as they walk in different directions.

~

“You sure about this, Chiaki?”

She straightens another lock of Kazuichi’s hair. “Do you want free Robux or not?”

“Of course I want free Robux!”

“Then stuff the bra, coward.”

He groans. “Do I  _ have _ to have titties?”

“No, but it’ll make the search for an admin a lot easier. Misogynists tend to like boobs, ironically.”

“But I like boobs!”

“Are you sure, Kazuichi? Because for someone who claims to like boobs, you sure are taking forever to stuff that bra.” He grumbles and shoves socks into his shirt while Chiaki quietly chants, “Stuff that bra! Stuff that bra!”

With his hair, makeup, outfit, and boobs done, Chiaki continuously spins him around in her gaming chair. She says, “Next, we have to get your voice right.”

“What’s wrong with my voice?”

“You don’t sound like a loli anime waifu from hell.” She taps her chin. “First, talk like you’re mocking a girl, then move it higher up in your throat. Then say dumb things like,” she deadpans, “‘hewwo owo, pwease send Wobux fow youw wittle kitten, nyaaa.’”

He turns pink. “I don’t wanna say shit like that!”

“Do you want the free Robux?”

He huffs and grumbles, high-pitched, “Hewwo owo, pwease send youw kitten Wobux…” He crosses his arms.

“Perfect. Now we just have to find a Discord™ server.” Chiaki takes her phone out of her pocket and scrolls for a few moments. “Apparently, there’s an upperclassman who has a server specifically for people to ‘find waifus,’ so we should try there.” She crouches in front of her computer desk and pulls up Discord™ and then the specific server. She types, _ Hewwo! I’m wooking for a husbando to take cawe of this wittle kitten, nya~!  _ into the waifu-search channel. She also sends a sultry-ish photo of Kazuichi that they’d taken earlier.

“How are you so good at doing all this?”

“You think I’m going to pay for Robux with my own money? Or pass up a chance to rip off incels?” They get a response with someone whose username is piggles_simp_69. “Huh. You do look kind of like Princess Piggles with the pink hair and the tits. That definitely worked out in our favor.”

“I don’t look like Princess Piggles!”

“Shut up. He’s video calling us. I’ll hide under the desk.” She dives into her hiding place and Kazuichi straightens his hair before answering the call.

“Hewwo~” he answers. The call goes well. Kazuichi is awkward, but his suitor seems to find it endearing. It ends after he’s able to coerce some Robux out of the guy. He hangs up and leans back in the chair, exhaling loudly. “Geez…”

“That wasn’t too bad, was it?” Chiaki asks, returning to the surface.

“It was… interesting. But I’ve got my Robux!” He and Chiaki high five.

~

Toko stalks into Makoto’s basement wearing a red, gingham dress and an ivory sun hat with a big bow. Someone provided one of those cheap, dinky disco lights that spins at an odd speed and has colored lights that aren’t quite bright enough. A shiny, plastic tablecloth covers an old card table. There’s a crudely decorated cake on top of it, accompanied by a line of 2-liter sodas and a modest pile of gifts. She scowls at all of it and almost bumps directly into the birthday boy.

“Oh, hi, Toko! Glad you could make it,” Makoto says. He’s wearing a Spider Man™ costume that’s a bit too small; it’s not small enough to look stupid, but it’s pretty obvious he’d have a hard time lifting his arms over his head. “The others weren’t sure you’d show up.” He looks her up and down then tilts his head. “So, what’re you dressed up as? A farmgirl?”

“O-of course you don’t know who it is, y-you uncultured imbecile!”

“Sorry?” He offers her a drink, but she’s already creeping away. She ignores her other classmates that bother to greet her, knowing that who she’s looking for would never address her as a human being. Unfortunately, the only blonds she spots are Mondo, who’s dressed as Elvis Presley, and Chihiro, who’s wearing a garden gnome outfit.

Hifumi, who, much to Toko’s chagrin, is, in fact, wearing his Princess Piggles costume, raves to Yasuhiro, dressed as a zombie, about the waifu he met in his Discord™ server who was totally into him and looked just like Princess Piggles. He says, “Alas, I had to break the maiden’s heart, as I am forever partial to 2D. I am a gentleman, however, so I gave her some Robux to ease the sting.” Yasuhiro yawns and stares at the ceiling.

Leon, dressed as a pirate, leans against the wall next to one of the many Princess Piggles cutouts. He says, “Hey, baby, you new around here?’ He moves in closer to it and Toko forces herself to look away for her mental health.

Master’s the only reason I came, Toko thinks, and he didn’t even bother to show up? She hugs herself, her face turning red, grins, and whispers, “What if he’s  _ ignoring _ me? Or...” She grips herself tighter. “ _ Avoiding _ me?”

Toko continues further into the depths of the basement, ending up beyond where any of the guests linger. After looking around corners and subsequently giving up, she squeals when someone bumps into her. The girl who bumped into her also screams. Several things fall to the floor with  _ thud _ s.

“H-hey! Watch it!” Toko shouts while the other groans, “Ow…”

The writer sees a shadow with animal ears and scuttles back against the nearest wall. “M-monster!”

“Hey, I’m not a monster! I know I bumped into you, but that’s a little far.” The beast stands and walks into the light, revealing a girl with short, greenish hair; she’s wearing cat ears and has whiskers drawn crudely on her cheeks.

Toko sits up. “W-who are you?”

“I’m Komaru, Makoto’s sister. You’re one of his friends, right? You’re here for his birthday party, right?”

“I guess so…” She stands and joins the other in the light.

“Hey! Are you dressed as the main character in ‘So Lingers the Ocean?’ Like, from the scene when she first gets on the guy’s fishing boat?”

Toko shakes. “Y-you know who it is?”

“Yeah! We’re reading it in my literature class and went over that part yesterday. The red represents her passion while the off-white ivory represents her loss of purity.” She tilts her head and smiles sheepishly. “Well, according to my teacher, at least.”

Toko’s hands ball into tight fists. “Is  _ that _ what they’re teaching you about my masterpiece? What kind of lunatic would interpret my complex symbolism as something so… idiotically surface-level?”

“Huh?” Komaru’s eyebrows furrow. “Wait…” She jumps to full attention. “Are you really Toko Fukawa? Woah, that’s so cool! I’m talking to a famous author!”

“Q-quiet down!” She contorts into herself. “There’s no way you’re excited to talk to me. Y-you probably just want something from me. Like…” She points at her. “Like the truth about my novel for your stupid class!”

“What do you mean?” She tilts her head and puts her hands on her hips. “The only thing I really want is your help picking up the books I dropped.”

“Books…?” she says cautiously. Komaru flips a nearby light switch, revealing a toppled cardboard box, half-full of books. The ones that presumably used to be in the box are fanned out across the carpet. Toko’s nose wrinkles. “Manga? Really?”

“Hey, what’s wrong with manga?” Komaru laughs a little bit. “Sorry if I made you think I was a big reader. My school requires a literature class.” She crouches down and begins to pick up the books. Toko joins her without thinking. “I do really like your book, though. Some of it is hard for me to understand, but I like the parts that I get. Like… the main character’s inner monologues are so silly! They always have my entire class laughing.”

Toko’s eye twitches; she almost drops the book she’s holding. “I-it’s not s-supposed to be funny!”

“Oh! Well…” Komaru places her stack into the now-upright box and holds out her arms for Toko’s. “Nobody in the class is all that into reading. Not novels, at least. We probably just don’t get it.”

Toko hands her the books and huffs. “I should’ve realized you’d be a moron the second I saw the manga.”

“Hey, that’s not nice!” Komaru’s bob bounces as she stands. Despite her words, she helps Toko to her feet. She then balls her hands into fists and sets them on her hips. “It’s not even  _ my _ manga! These are Makoto’s old books. I’m checking to see he had any of the textbooks I need. I don’t want to buy any if I don’t have to.” She squats and lifts up the box.

“W-why are you dressed up if y-you’re just going to go through some books, anyway?”

Komaru laughs half-heartedly. “Oh… well, I thought I would join the party… or, at the very least, mooch some snacks. But then I remembered that I had a bunch of homework I didn’t do.” She sighs. “What a bummer. I wanted an excuse to eat some of his birthday cake.”

“It’s no wonder you two are related,” she grumbles. “It seems like he’s always forgetting about his homework. But of course, whenever he’s the one who forgets, the teacher just  _ happens _ to forget to collect it.”

“Yeah, his luck can be kind of annoying, can’t it?” She straightens her posture. “Anyway, I’d better get to work. Thanks for the help, Toki. Sorry for bumping into you!”

“I-it’s  _ Toko _ !”

“Oh, sorry, Toko!”

Toko follows a few paces behind Komaru until she disappears up the stairs. Her knees turn to jelly when she sees Byakuya, who’s simultaneously talking to Makoto and turning up his nose in the corner. He meets her eyes for a split second before wandering into a darker spot, Makoto following close behind.

Once they’re back into view, she watches Makoto hold out a cheap, plastic viking hat to Byakuya. They go back and forth for a while until the progeny sighs and places it on his head. Makoto beams and continues talking enthusiastically.

It doesn’t take too long for Byakuya to spot her again and, similarly to before, he casually leads their conversation to a different location. Toko thinks, he  _ is _ avoiding me! She giggles giddily.


End file.
